Starr in the submersible, Deep Worker. He trained as a pilot as part of the Sustainable Seas Expedition, which is a cooperative project between NOAA and National Geographic. The submersible can stay down for 1–4 hours.

Starr shown above on the left in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with his surf kayak at the world championships in September, 1999. To his left is a Brazilian champion.

Fisherman with a large grouper.

 

 

Rick Starr Biography

Rick Starr is a marine advisor for the California Sea Grant Extension Program for Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties.

In the past 20 years, Starr has studied the biology and ecology of marine species that are harvested as fishery resources. As a Marine Advisor, Starr's job is to help find research-based solutions to coastal problems. This involves a wide variety of research and extension work, including developing educational materials, advising groups on ways to find creative solutions to coastal issues, forging partnerships with schools and organizations, participating in community committees and workshops and conducting research. Here some of Starr's work is highlighted.

Research

Starr conducts research on the distribution, abundance and movements of marine fishes to help promote the wise use, conservation and management of valuable fishery resources. He provides technical advice to governmental agencies, environmental organizations and resource users to help coordinate coastal resource management plans and assisted in the creation of an ocean science camp for children called Camp SEA Lab Monterey Bay;

Starr's more recent publications (listed below) describe the status of fisheries in the Monterey Bay region, the movements of sonically tagged fishes, an evaluation of the effectiveness of existing marine reserves in Central California, resource management options for the endangered Nassau grouper, and the use of GIS in resource management.

Starr is an Adjunct Professor with the California State University, Monterey Bay and Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. His field experience includes:

• Principal investigator, co-PI or chief scientist on research cruises
• More than 1,000 hours of SCUBA diving
• Many submersible dives, some as pilot
• Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) cruises

Education

Starr earned his Bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia, Master's from Oregon State University, and Doctorate from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur.

Recreation

In addition to his professional work, Starr is an avid kayaker. He has run difficult rivers in many parts of the world, and was the captain of the U.S. Surf Kayak Team that won the 1999 world championships in Brazil.

Selected Publications

Starr, R.M., V. O'Connell and S. Ralston. 2004. Movements of lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus) in southeast Alaska: potential for increased conservation and yield from marine reserves. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

Starr, R.M., J.M. Cope and L.A. Kerr. 2002. Trends in fisheries and fishery resources associated with the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary from 1981–2001. California Sea Grant College System Publication T- 046. 156 pp.

Starr, R.M., M.H. Carr, J. Caselle, J.A. Estes, C. Pomeroy, C. Syms, D.A. VenTresca, and M.M. Yoklavich. 2002. A review of the ecological effectiveness of subtidal marine reserves in Central California. Part I. Synopsis of scientific investigations. A report to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary: 299 Foam Street, Monterey, CA. 93940. 133 pp.

Starr, R.M., M.H. Carr, J. Caselle, J.A. Estes, C. Syms, D.A. VenTresca and M.M. Yoklavich. 2002. A review of the ecological effectiveness of subtidal marine reserves in Central California. Part II. Summary of existing marine reserves in Central California and their potential benefits. A report to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary: 299 Foam Street, Monterey, CA. 93940. 14 pp.

Yoklavich, M., G. Cailliet, R.N. Lea, H.G. Greene, R. Starr, J. De Marignac and J. Field. 2002. Deepwater habitat and fish resources associated with the Big Creek Ecological Reserve. California Cooperative Fisheries Investigation Report. CalCOFI MS2002-03. 25 pp.

Starr, R.M., J.N. Heine, J.M. Felton and G.M. Cailliet. 2002. Movements of bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis) and greenspotted (Sebastes chlorostictus) rockfishes in a Monterey submarine canyon: Implications for the design of marine reserves. Fishery Bulletin Vol. 100, No. 2. pp. 324–337.

Adams, P.B. and R.M. Starr. 2001. Lingcod. pp. 191–193 in: Leet. W.S., C.M. Dewees, R. Klingbeil and E. Larson (eds.). 2001. California's living marine resources: A status report. California Department of Fish and Game. 593 pp.

Sala, E., E. Ballesteros, R.M. Starr. 2001. Rapid decline of Nassau grouper spawning aggregations in Belize: Fishery management and conservation needs. Journal American Fisheries Society. Vol. 26. No. 10. pp. 23–30.

Yoklavich, M., G. Cailliet, R.N. Lea, H.G. Greene, R. Starr, J. De Marignac, and J. Field. 2001. Deepwater habitat and fish resources associated with a Marine Reserve: Implications for fisheries management, Part 1. California Sea Grant College Program. Marine Ecological Reserves Research Program Research Results R/BC 1.

Greene, H.G., M.M. Yoklavich, V.M. O'Connell, R.M. Starr, W.W. Wakefield, C.K. Brylinsky, J.J. Bizzarro, and G.M. Cailliet. 2000. Mapping and classification of deep seafloor habitats. ICES paper CM 2000/T:08. 11 pp.

Starr, R.M., J.N. Heine, and K.A. Johnson. 2000. In situ techniques for tagging and tracking rockfishes. North American Journal of Fisheries Management, August, 2000.

Voegeli. F.A. and R.M. Starr. 2000. Automated monitoring of fish movements and data telemetry from acoustic tags. Proceedings 15th International Symposium on Biotelemetry, Juneau, Alaska.

Stanbury, K.B. and R.M. Starr. 1999. Applications of geographic information systems (GIS) to habitat assessment and marine resource management. Oceanologica Acta, Vol. 22, No. 6.

Murray, S., R. Ambrose, J. Bohnsack, L. Botsford, M. Carr, G. Davis, P. Dayton, D. Gotshall, D. Gunderson, M. Hixon, J. Lubchenco, M. Mangel, A. McCall, D. McArdle, J. Ogden, C. Pomeroy, J. Roughgarden, R. Starr, M. Tegner, and M. Yoklavich. 1999. No-take reserves: Sustaining fishery populations and marine ecosystems. Journal American Fisheries Society, Vol. 24 (11): 11-25.

Starr, R.M. and R.E. Thorne. 1998. Acoustic assessment of squid stocks. pp. 181–198 in: P.G. Rodhouse, E.G. Dawe, and R.K. O'Dor (eds.). Squid recruitment dynamics: The genus Illex as a model, the commercial Illex species and influences on variability. FAO Fish. Tech. Pap. No. 376. Rome, Italy.